


Take Delight In It

by myrmidryad



Series: RNM Week [4]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Developing Friendships, Female Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-19 22:28:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19981552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myrmidryad/pseuds/myrmidryad
Summary: Isobel sets about wooing herself some new friends.





	Take Delight In It

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: not just sugar and spice.
> 
> Title from [Wow, I'm Not Crazy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrboRJSO4fI) by AJR, which is a very lovely friendshippy song.

The thing was, Isobel had never really had friends. 

She had Max, and she had Michael. She had her parents, and Noah. She had acquaintances like the people from her mother’s bridge club and the businesses she frequented and the people she knew from the various events she’d helped to plan. But no friends, really. She’d gone through the motions in school, but true friendship was built on the exchange of intimacies, and she could only ever get so close to someone before she hit a limit. The only people she’d ever been able to be unguarded around were Max and Michael, and there had been secrets between them even so.

She’d managed to persuade herself very effectively that she didn’t care or mind. She had her brothers, her parents, and her husband. What more could a woman want? And even after Noah, she still had Max and Michael. Ill-advised and idiotic suicide-resurrection notwithstanding. They’d gotten Max back, after all, and if the experience had sent her off the deep end a bit, well, she was fine now. She was fine. She had both brothers back, said brothers were actually _talking_ to each other again, and everything was fine.

There was absolutely no reason to be gripped with a very sudden and very real sense of envy when Maria arrived at the first group meal at Max’s place and was greeted with tight hugs from Liz and Rosa.

“You’re early,” Isobel said, once Maria had been released, and Maria just raised an eyebrow and lifted the bottle of wine she’d brought in.

“Brought booze though. Cheer up, princess.” She smiled, fake and cutting, and Isobel hated her just a little bit. She did take the wine though, and gave it to Max to put in the fridge.

The dinner had been her idea, and she was agonising over it like she was being paid for it. To be fair, the stakes were much higher. A work event was something she could leave behind at the end of the day, but this was her life. These were people who knew her secrets. They weren’t, however, friends. Not yet.

Rosa left Liz and Maria to settle down on the couch and chatter to each other, and Isobel escaped to the bathroom to try and calm down a bit. Everything was going to be fine. So what if Maria was early? So what if Liz and Rosa had been overjoyed to see her in a way they certainly weren’t when they saw Isobel? It didn’t spell disaster. And it wasn’t exactly surprising. She and Rosa were still awkward around each other, even after a few blow-out confrontations that had very nearly ended with Isobel in tears. And she and Liz liked each other well enough, but there was still something in the way there too.

Isobel checked her teeth in the mirror for what had to be the dozenth time since she’d arrived and glared at her reflection. She looked good, she knew that. She’d helped Max pick the food (a sort of tapas-style spread so everyone could take what they wanted and eat with their fingers, which she hoped would lower everyone’s inhibitions a little); she’d made a playlist that was unobtrusive without being dull; she’d even decorated a little. There were fairy lights along a few of the bookshelves, a tablecloth over Max’s nice new dining table, and little understated candles casually placed here and there. She’d decided against proper cloth napkins in favour of paper towels. The less formal, the better.

They worked well in small units, they’d discovered over the past few months. Kyle and Alex, Isobel and Michael, Max and Maria, and many other combinations. Isobel would almost consider Alex a friend now, on the same level as Liz. But there was still a layer between her and everyone else, it seemed. A proper get-together that wasn’t prompted by life or death problems that would give them all space to acknowledge their new places in each other’s lives was necessary, and Isobel hoped it would maybe break down that barrier a little.

Of course, that was easier said than done, especially when even she could recognise her own instinctive reaction to anyone getting close to her was to lash out and keep them at a safe distance. 

She consciously relaxed her face and gave her reflection a tight smile, then stepped out of the bathroom. No more retreats.

Michael and Alex arrived next, followed almost immediately by Kyle, and Isobel opened the first bottle of wine for those who wanted it, distributing beers for those who didn’t. She’d expected the divide to be gendered, but Rosa held out her hand for a beer and met Isobel’s eyes as she tipped her head back to take the first gulp.

She always had to _push._

Isobel turned away and went to check on Max, still happily occupied in the kitchen. Rosa was still mourning the Isobel she thought she’d known, chased with understandable resentment at being murdered by that same Isobel she thought she’d known. It was a mess, but they’d had one furious fight about it and it seemed to have died down as an issue for now. In a sense, they were both mourning the same illusion, and it _should_ have been something to bond over. Isobel wanted it to be something that brought them together rather than pushed them apart, but Rosa was so difficult to talk to. 

They all wanted to protect her too much, and Rosa hated it.

Isobel helped Max bring the food over, Michael assisting without getting up, grinning as he used his powers to float the hottest dishes onto the table. “Show off,” Maria muttered, and he laughed.

“Jealous, DeLuca?”

It was galling that Michael had a better relationship with Maria than Isobel did, even though the mess between them and Alex had been so dramatic. Maria could get close to everyone, it seemed, except Isobel. She knew that it hadn’t really been Isobel that Rosa had been avoiding the night she’d died, but she’d barely eased up. 

Isobel admitting that she was upset that Maria was being mean to her was so embarrassing she could barely face the truth in the privacy of her own mind, let alone confront Maria herself about it. 

The dinner went well, at any rate. No one shouted at anyone else, they kept the conversation mixed fairly evenly between normal topics and the things they could only talk about with each other, and everyone complimented Max on the food. 

Isobel got farewell hugs from Alex and Kyle, who was charmingly tactile with a couple of drinks in him, and tried not to notice that Max got hugs from all three other women as well. 

Why didn’t they like her?

It took her ages to fall asleep, trying to work out a solution. How the hell did people make friends?

“I was just passing,” Isobel shrugged, putting the coffee down on the bar, ignoring Maria’s confusion. “And I got my free coffee today, so.”

“Your…what?”

“Loyalty cards?” Isobel raised an eyebrow. “You know, you buy ten coffees, get one free?”

Maria frowned and picked the cup up, looking down at it like she’d never seen one before. Isobel adjusted the strap of her handbag on her shoulder as Maria pulled the lid off and raised her eyebrows. “How do you even know my order?”

“Lucky guess,” Isobel lied breezily, turning to leave. She’d asked Michael for it, but Maria didn’t need to know that. “See you later.”

“…Thank you?”

Liz blinked at the paper bag Isobel held out to her, clearly still in science mode. Isobel didn’t know much about her job at the hospital, but she’d asked Kyle how to get in, and his directions had worked. “What’s –”

“Max said you didn’t eat breakfast this morning,” Isobel shrugged, shaking the bag a little. “And he said you like sweet things for breakfast, so.”

“So you bought me breakfast?” Liz started to smile, and reached out to take the bag.

“Sure, why not, right? Marianne loves me, I give her so much business.” Isobel watched as Liz took the sticky pastry out of the bag and took a bite, satisfaction settling in her bones as Liz’s eyes closed.

“Oh my God,” she mumbled through a full mouth, and Isobel grinned.

“Right?”

“You’re the best,” Liz said fervently, mouth still full.

“I try.” Isobel flicked her hair over her shoulder. “See you at Max’s for dinner?”

“Uh huh.”

“Cool. Bye.” Isobel waved her fingers and slipped out, smiling to herself when she heard Liz sigh in appreciation before the door closed.

_You’re an artist,_ Isobel sent to Rosa over her phone. _Which of these designs looks better to you?_ She attached two photos of different table settings. As expected, Rosa replied immediately.

_What’s in it for me?_

_A surprise._

_What kind of surprise?_

_An expensive one._

_Second pic._

_Thank you!_

Isobel smirked and looked over at the very nice sketchbook and markers she’d bought. When she went to the Crashdown to hand them over, Rosa’s eyes went gratifyingly wide.

“Holy shit, are you serious?” She grabbed the box of markers and ran her fingers over the front. “What, did you rob an art store? What the hell?”

Isobel shrugged. “I can take them back if you don’t want them.”

“Whoa, I didn’t say that.” Rosa pulled the markers against her chest, half laughing but still visibly bemused. “Are you sure?”

“No, I got them by mistake and handed them to the wrong Ortecho,” Isobel said dryly. “Please, pass them on to Liz, I’m sure she’ll love them. She can use the sketchbook as a notebook for her equations and leave the pens all over the place, and –”

“Okay, okay, I get it.” Rosa laughed, bewildered. “Liz isn’t getting anywhere near these babies.”

“Glad to hear it.” Isobel smiled, just slightly. “Can I get a strawberry saucer shake to go?”

“Sure, no problem.” Rosa frowned, just the hint of a smile playing at the corners of her lips, and went to stash the sketchbook and markers out of sight before making up Isobel’s milkshake.

Isobel gave Maria a boutique lip ointment after hearing her complain about the cold chapping her lips. She gave Liz a customised pair of safety glasses, rimmed in red. She gave Rosa a new stick of black eyeliner. She lied about owning a book, and bought it purely to lend to Maria after hearing her talk about it. She interrogated Max and bought Liz a spare phone charger, because Liz kept forgetting to buy one. She heard Rosa complain about the lack of movie options in Roswell and hit on the frankly genius idea of giving her access to Isobel’s Amazon Prime and Hulu accounts so she could watch whatever she wanted on there.

“It’s fine.” She shrugged and brushed it off every time. “I had a voucher.” Or, “I was just passing by.” Or, “You mentioned it, I can’t remember when.”

She learned their coffee orders and which kinds of snacks they preferred. She kept painkillers she didn’t use in her handbag, ready to offer at any moment. She stuffed money into the tip jars at the Wild Pony and the Crashdown Café. She got their drinks, whenever they were together, usually at Max’s or Alex’s where the group dinners had mercifully continued, the first one having been such a success. 

A silver ring for Liz (“Oh, I found it when I was unpacking, you know how much stuff you get rid of when you move, I thought you might like it.”), a cowboy sign for Maria (“A freebie from a client, it looked like the sort of thing you’d hang in the bar.”), a decent pair of headphones for Rosa (“Lost mine, bought these, found mine again, you know how it goes.”). 

She’d show them how kind she could be. She’d show them how generous and thoughtful she was, when she put in the effort. How could they resist?

“You free tonight?” Liz asked when Isobel brought her lunch in the lab. She was doing it at least twice a week now, their schedules permitting, and letting Liz pay half the time. 

“Sure, why?”

“They’re showing _The Mummy_ at the drive-in.” Liz smiled. “You in? Just us girls, no boys allowed. Rosa insisted.”

“Well, if Rosa insisted.” Isobel smirked. “Sure, why not? Whose car are we taking?”

“Maria’s, we can all watch from her truck.”

From the back of her truck, Isobel realised with no small amount of dismay. It was going to be freezing, even for her. She smiled brightly. “Sounds good. We’re meeting at the Pony then?”

“Uh huh.” Liz grinned back. “Six o’clock.”

“Perfect.”

And weirdly, it kind of was. It was freezing, obviously, but Maria brought a huge flask of hot chocolate that they passed around, Liz brought hot water bottles, and they huddled close together under a pile of throws and blankets. Isobel was pressed between Maria and Liz, and by the time the movie was over, she was actually enjoying herself.

There was a tiny child buried deep inside her that wanted to make friendship bracelets for them to make it official in some capacity, and when Isobel realised that that was the urge she was getting, she had a long shower and thought of the next round of gifts she could conceivably press on them. It was a delicate game; she didn’t want to look like she was desperate. Everything had to look casual, but not dismissive. It was all in the difference between chancing across something that made her think of one of them, and going out of her way to seek those things down.

Though obviously she was seeking. She felt like a damn hound dog at times, scouring Maria’s Instagram and eavesdropping on Max’s conversations with Liz and dropping into the Crashdown at least once every couple of days to study Rosa. She was combing through every conversation she had with the women, ears pricked and fingers ready to write down the slightest hint of what any of them wanted.

And it was working, she knew it. Her efforts were genuinely paying off. Maria actually talked to her now, and invited her to things like the drive in and her night off from the Pony. She always did the organising, Isobel noticed, and they were now at the point where Maria complained about how difficult it was to get Liz to come along, which was pretty exciting. Liz was useless at coming out unless she was basically harassed into it (and the easiest way of doing that was to enlist Rosa), but she was okay if people came to her. 

Rosa was still in Isobel’s blind spot, to a large extent. The future, as she called it, still occasionally took her by surprise, innocuous things tripping her up and getting her angry. She spoke more in Isobel’s hearing now though, telling her and the other two how much she hated having to pretend to be called Helena, how she had days where she didn’t want to get out of bed because the world was too overwhelming, how awful it was every time someone commented on how similar she looked to poor, dead Rosa Ortecho, though at least she wasn’t a murderous crackhead like that bitch had been.

Still, although Isobel felt like she knew the least about Rosa, they were progressing too. When she heard Liz complain that Rosa never showed anyone her art, she had to stifle a giddy laugh, because Rosa did show her. She still couldn’t bear to tell any of them about her own messy thoughts, but she became very good at listening to theirs. And finally, after several weeks, she didn’t immediately brush it off when Liz asked if she was okay.

Isobel had a new house, but she still spent at least a night or two a week at Max’s place. She wouldn’t apologise for it – Max was always happy to have her nearby these days, and if Liz didn’t like it, that just meant she wasn’t equipped to handle their freaky twin co-dependency. But she never complained, and in fact seemed to like having Isobel there. 

The question came as Isobel stared at a photo she’d found in one of Max’s books. Her, Noah, Max, and Michael, arms around each other and grinning into the camera. One of the reasons she’d loved Noah so much was because of how accepting he was of her closeness with her brothers, especially Michael. People expected a degree of weirdness from twins, but not everyone understood that she loved Michael and needed him in her life just as much. Noah had understood. He’d never tried to get her to pull away from them, he’d never been anything but supportive.

Liz found her standing with the photo in her hand, and frowned. “Isobel?”

“Mm?” Isobel jerked her head up, dropping the hand holding the picture to her side. “Yes?”

“Are you okay?”

The moment where she usually smiled and said, “Of course!” passed. Another, longer moment of silence followed, and Isobel swallowed. “I don’t have enough photos for my new house. Photos without him in them, I mean.” It wasn’t exactly what she’d meant to say, but it was out there now.

“Rosa’s got a camera,” Liz said immediately, breaking into a huge smile. “I’ll get her to bring it to Alex’s tomorrow. And if Maria makes us do this sleepover thing she’s been talking about, we could take photos then too.”

A not insignificant part of Isobel recoiled at the idea of messy, candid shots framed on her walls. But she made herself nod. “Rosa wouldn’t mind?”

“Not as long as we get some photos with her in them too.” Liz smiled. “We’ll pass the camera around. It’ll be cute!”

And again, weirdly, it kind of was. Isobel went through the photos with Rosa a couple of days afterwards and found herself leaning into her and giggling when she saw the ones of her with Max and Michael, three in a row. A normal one, then one where the boys were grinning at each other behind her back, and a third where on an unspoken signal they both scooped her up in their arms, holding her between them with their linked arms acting as a seat. The photo captured the exact moment of her shriek, all of them laughing.

“You should get these framed as a triptych,” Rosa snickered. “Idiots and sister, in motion.”

“I will,” Isobel decided, then sighed. “Ugh, I need to get more photo frames. And paint. And…everything, really.”

“You haven’t decorated at all?” Rosa glanced sideways at her, raising an eyebrow. “You’ve been moved in for like, over a month now.”

“Yeah.” Isobel looked at a photo of Michael and Liz, both of them mid-speech, Michael gesticulating wildly. In the background, Max was looking on with an obviously fond look. “I’ve been busy, I guess. And there’s so much I need to buy. I had to get rid of almost everything.” She’d tried to be practical, after Noah’s death, but she’d realised very quickly that even the idea of using a towel that Noah had touched made her skin crawl.

“Oh my God.” Rosa turned to her with an unholy gleam in her eyes. “Let’s go shopping.”

“Yeah?” Isobel raised her eyebrows.

“Yeah! Come on, squeeze me into your calendar, I’m bored as hell and you’re crazy rich. I bet shopping with you is amazing.”

So she went shopping with Rosa Ortecho. In Albuquerque, because Roswell was great, but it was about the size of her thumb, and she wanted options. Maria and Liz were both busy, so it was just Isobel and Rosa, and out of sheer nervous panic, Isobel gave Rosa full control of the music for the drive there and back.

Amazingly, they didn’t kill each other. Even more amazingly, they had fun. Isobel had been shopping with other girls before, obviously, but it was so much more fun with Rosa. Rosa didn’t sugar-coat her opinions even a little bit – if she thought a colour Isobel was considering sucked, she’d say so. It was also a prime opportunity for Isobel to splash a little cash on a decent present for her and pretend it was just a friendly impulse buy, spurred by spending so much in one go.

So Isobel got herself photo frames and ornaments and bedding and cushions, and ordered a new bed (at last), a new couch, and a completely new set of kitchen equipment, and in amongst all of that she bought Rosa a beautiful new leather jacket, cherry red and soft as sin, and told Rosa cheerfully that it was just thanks for coming along and stopping her from buying anything ugly by mistake.

From there, it sort of made sense to let Maria organise a day for everyone who was available to come over and help Isobel paint what she wanted to paint. Michael had already made a start, fixing what needed fixing and filling in a few holes in the walls left by hooks and who knew what else. He brought drop cloths on the day too, borrowed from some friend of a friend, and Isobel had to hide in the bathroom for a few minutes and have a tiny freak out at the realisation that she had a house full of what she was pretty sure at this point were actual friends, and they were helping her paint and decorate.

She got a little emotional about it, and then pulled herself together and went back out to make sure everyone was staying hydrated. 

They ended up having the sleepover Maria insisted they needed at Isobel’s about a week later, the living room still smelling of paint, her new couch assembled by Michael that morning.

“God, I feel about fourteen again,” Maria sighed happily, holding out her glass for Liz to refill.

“Wanna talk about crushes and paint your nails?” Rosa teased. 

“No crushes,” Maria declared, but got a thoughtful look on her face. “We should definitely play a game though.”

“Spin the bottle?” Liz frowned, and Isobel laughed when Rosa pretended to retch.

“I’m with Rosa on this one,” she said dryly. “No offence.”

“Oh please,” Maria snorted, sipping her wine. “You love us, don’t lie. You let us paint your house.”

Isobel shrugged. “Someone had to do it, and you were cheaper than hiring professionals.”

“I’ve got a better idea,” Liz said, grabbing Isobel’s laptop, currently blaring out another one of Rosa’s playlists. “Internet quizzes.”

“You’re addicted,” Rosa told her seriously as Maria and Isobel cackled. “You have a _problem_.”

Liz stuck her tongue out at her. “You’re my problem. And don’t pretend you don’t want to know…” She squinted at the screen. “Which love language you use, or which Disney princess should be your bestie.”

Rosa rolled her eyes, but they did end up taking the quizzes. And when Isobel told them with a raised eyebrow that her love language was gifts, Maria put her wine down just so she could collapse backwards into the cushions spread all over the floor. “Oh my _God._ ”

“What?” Isobel frowned. “Who doesn’t like getting presents?”

“And giving them!” Maria sat up and shook her head. “I’m seeing all your recent behaviour in a new light, that’s all. I knew you were trying to get us to like you by giving us presents, but that makes it extra obvious.”

Isobel flushed. “I have not!”

“Don’t be mad!” Liz cried, listing sideways and hugging Isobel tightly. “I think it’s sweet! And I love that you bring me lunch, I totally forget to eat if no one reminds me.”

“It is sweet,” Rosa agreed, smiling and giving Maria an amused look. “And hey, it’s not like it’s weird for friends to do nice things for each other, right?”

Isobel lifted a hand to hold onto Liz’s arm, swallowing around a sudden lump in her throat. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, totally.” Rosa shrugged. “Why do you think Maria’s constantly trying to get you to hang out with us?”

“Uh, I think you mean hang out at all,” Isobel corrected, managing to laugh. 

“Hey, you’re not so bad,” Maria said. “It’s these two I have problems with.” She jerked her thumb at Rosa, then Liz, and rolled her eyes. “It’s like herding cats. Besides, you shouldn’t be surprised! I literally just told you my language is quality time.”

“I’ve never had friends before,” Isobel said haltingly. “I mean, real ones. Who knew the important stuff.”

“Awwwwww.” Just a few weeks ago, Rosa would have sounded mean, but she was grinning now, and Isobel found herself smiling back, a little self-conscious. “Come on, guys, Isobel’s never had friends before, group hug!”

Maria pretended to grumble at having to put down her wine, but she and Rosa shuffled closer and Isobel laughed as they all crowded around and wrapped their arms around her. It was ridiculous; they were crushing her and they probably looked absurd, but it was weirdly nice, all the same. If she sniffed and had to swallow around a lump in her throat, they were all kind enough not to mention it. Isobel guessed that knowing not to bring it up was the sort of thing that friends knew about each other, and she found herself closing her eyes and hugging them all right back.

She’d planned for this eventuality, was the thing. She’d approached it like a battle plan, like she was bribing them into liking her, and now that it had worked, she hardly knew what to do with herself. She laughed into Liz’s arm, felt Rosa tug a strand of her hair, and didn’t jump when Maria took her hand and squeezed.

“You okay, princess?” she asked softly as they all drew back, and Isobel took a deep breath, biting down hard on her lip to stop it wobbling.

“No,” she finally admitted, whispering. Maria looked at her, completely serious. Rosa nodded like she understood, and Liz rubbed her back in a slow, soothing motion. “Not really.”

“Tell us about it,” Liz suggested, and Isobel took another deep breath, opened her mouth, and did.

**Author's Note:**

> [Find me on tumblr!](http://myrmidryad.tumblr.com)


End file.
